DOGS OF THE DEADLANDS is a heart-tingling tale of the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, April 26, 1986. Unusually this story focuses on the points of view of the Animals of the region. Heartbreakingly, when the nearby city of Pripyat was evacuated on the night of the explosion, no pets were allowed to accompany. But as the story unfolds, there is joy and Pet love in the future, so that all is not lost, after all.

Dogs of the Deadlands by Anthony McGowan is one of those books that is both savage and beautiful and I have no doubt will stay with me for a long time. The story begins on Natasha’s birthday where she gets the most amazing present of all: a little Samoyed puppy that she names Zoya. But disaster soon tears Natasha away from her puppy as the Chernobyl nuclear power plant’s reactor number 4 explodes and Natasha and her family must evacuate and leave everything behind, including Zoya.

The story then follows Zoya, who finds life in the woods, starts a family, and then we see her son and his journey. It is a book about struggle, some of it very harsh as Misha tries to survive. It’s also about coming home and making a life even in the midst of hard times. We also see Natasha grow up and become a focused and sullen scientist, but one with deep wounds. Those wounds can only heal if she can take a step outside of herself and build the relationships she desperately needs.

Dogs of the Deadlands will not be for everyone, but for those who are willing to go on this journey, it will be well worth the reading.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review. My opinions are my own.

I usually cry buckets when I read a book about animals and this one was no exception.
It's a realistic story of dogs and wolfs and what happened to them in the aftermath of Chernobil.
It's not a book I would recommend to young child but it's a good book.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book but I definitely enjoyed it. The story was cute and heart breaking at the same time. I spend through this book eager to know what was going to happen to our furry protagonist. I will say I was hoping this book would be darker more along the lines of Plague Dogs and Watership Downs though that was really just my problem. As a whole this was a really great story.

Despite the pulling of the heartstrings that McGowan deploys throughout Dogs Of The Deadlands this is not a cosy book with anthropomorphised animals. It owes more to Call Of The Wild than 101 Dalmatians, or even any of Morpurgo's books where there's sadness but not the brutality of nature 'red in tooth and claw'. depicted here. I'll be interested to see what my readers think of it because it's hard to think of a comparison without going back to Watership Down, Plague Dogs or Call Of The Wild- none of which get read any more sadly. It's a thrilling, at times gut wrenching read for a confident upper Middle Grade or YA audience.

This book is set for big things.
I have just finished reading and I am genuinely blown away!

As a child my favourite book series was the famous “Animals of Farthing Wood” and this genuinely caught me out in the same way.

Just amazing.

Some heart ache, some tragedy, a death defying struggle and some happiness.

I hope I am right and this book gets the publicity it deserves, as this is a book that millions need to read and enjoy.

Thank you so much for letting me read an early copy, I feel so privileged and will definitely be looking to purchase this once it is released for my own collection.

Thank you 10/10

Quite the unusual read, this – an unexpected drama set in a unique situation. The plot is split between Natasha, a young girl who has only just been given a brilliant white puppy when Chernobyl goes belly-up and her home is evacuated, and dog forced to stay behind, and Mother, a feral mistress of the hunt and the two survivors of her latest litter. To be fair, Natasha only crops up every few chapters as a reminder she's there, and we see the hole in her heart the abandonment of Pripyat and her pup created. The core thing is watching Mother, Misha and the semi-lame Bratan grow together as a family unit. And while they have each other they don't have it all their own way – lynx, bear and wolves are definite threats, and Bratan's hind legs hampering his speed don't help either.

So this is one of those reads whose focus very much is the animals – if directed for the cinema the cameras would pretty much be always at their shoulder height. Does that make it for young readers? Some slapstick pratfalls and incidents with shelves of jars of human food might suggest so. So why do we get darker, deeper scenes? Why is the word self-abnegation here? Why is this so teenager-friendly bloody, and yet also so soapy?

For that's what I felt this was, in the finish – a soap opera story played out by wild dogs and wolves. Characters get the most implausible of callbacks, as if a new agent has persuaded the producers to bring an actor back after a spell of years. The unlikely in this plot is, frankly, the bulk of it. And inasmuch as it's set in Chernobyl, and the whole story hinges on that one event, there is so little here about the disaster all that's gained from using it in such a way is one less massive contrivance.

I dare say for the target reader this will not be that awful, and if they can get through the thing (a first draft was an even vaster plod, apparently) they will find drama galore and a very effective ending. I don't know if it's my not having read animal books for about forty years or not, but I didn't fall in love with the characters enough to make me emotional about them at all, and either way the hokum of the plot was still too strong for me. Two and a half stars, for the writing's merits when we can see them, and for the superb art here and there.

The story starts with Natasha who is young and has always wanted a puppy. At last she is rewarded on her birthday with the gift of an adorable white pup with one blue and one brown eye. At the end of the book an older dog with one blue and one brown eye is guarding an older Natasha as well as her husband and young baby. However Natasha’s birthday was the day before the Chernobyl power station erupted resulting in families nearby being evacuated with just one bag of belongings. Despite being told not to, in this bag Natasha had tried to hide Zoya, who when discovered was dumped by the roadside and the last Natasha saw of her was the puppy trying to keep up with the convoy whisking people away to safety.
But dogs have to survive or die and Zoya fought to survive, alongside the wolves who prowled the area, in greater numbers now that humans had abandoned it as it was too dangerous to return.
This is no sugar-coated sweet story of a simple reuniting of dog and owner as Zoya had to become wild enough to survive in the wild and Natasha hardened her heart to love for fear of being hurt again. Dogs die in the writing of this book and many young readers will be horrified of the brutal conditions every survivor endured to earn their place in the pack.
Along the way Baba Yaga nurtures the softer, loyal side of a canine she found in the woods, then a border guard allowed the old dog to keep him company in return for food.
Anthony McGowan is in touch with nature and nature’s lifecycles and this is obvious in the description of the stark surroundings as well as the fight for survival resulting in an adventure story across decades.

This is a lovely story about dogs, and wolves, the friendship between them and their (namely, dogs) humans. The language is beautifully written and easy to read (I finished it in no time!). Did I mention that I absolutely adore the illustrations? Bang on black and white images, so suited for this book.
Now, what could have been a five star book for me, certain things knocked some of those stars off. While there are things I'm willing to look by (such as someone with Physicist training themselves, going to teach at school chemistry), politics - not so much. This, being a book aimed at children (or so I am led to believe), political nuances seem very much unnecessary, particularly those with hints of nostalgia for "Soviet times". I realise that the book's story starts in 1986 when Ukraine was still occupied and part of the Soviet regime.. however, there were bits I didn't really like, such as even considering naming a dog Stalin (unless that comes from author's personal experience, knowing such a case... even then). I mean, woah. I know, the person in the story didn't name the dog as such, but to even consider? Because it's a part wolf? Oh, yeah, the big bad wolf narrative... so stereotypical.
"He would grumble about the decline and fall of the old Soviet Union. "Once the people were in charge. Now only oligarchs. Billionaires. Thieves," he would mutter." - This example. so much wrong in these two sentences. While I don't want to go down the road explaining the history in this review... and while some people in occupied countries might have thought (or still think), this is absolutely disgusting message to send to the kids. If the story is meant and aimed for adults, or young adults and the author feels the need to include politics (which is not bad thing per se), some knowledge of the era, country and its history would be beneficial.
So that's my two pence. Politics aside, this book would have received full five star review from me, as it's beautifully illustrated, equally beautifully written... but when politics get involved.. especially for the kids book. Uhm, no.